Exchange Students
by Fleur Sparks
Summary: Two normal teenage girls from America get a letter from Hogwarts one day that opens up a door to a whole new world that they never knew existed.
1. Letter From Hogwarts

*DISCLAIMER*: I do not own any of the original HP characters...I only own MY characters that I have made up.  
  
A/N: I must admit that I mainly got this idea (or was inspired) from Mary (corinofthesoul)'s YYH fanfic named Heart & Soul, so much of the credit goes to her. ^_^ Enjoy and please REVIEW!!! Please!!!!! and Mary-Sues were not intentional but if that's what you see then...live with it because I en't changin it.  
  
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::: Exchange Students :::  
  
---CHAPTER ONE---  
  
"Goodness gracious," muttered Alisha as she struggled to finish her math homework. It was already 9:40 PM and she hadn't finished it. "Evil teachers giving us buttloads of boring homework..." she continued to herself. Her head kept bobbing up and down and she was about to collapse any minute.  
  
Just then, she heard a noise coming from her window.  
  
Tat-tat-tat-tat-tat! was what it sounded like. Alisha froze on the spot and listened.  
  
Tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat!! it said again, this time a bit more loudly.  
  
Finally, Alisha cautiously got up from her seat and peered through her blinds.  
  
"Ohmygosh it's an OWL...at my WINDOW...what in the WORLD???"  
  
She locked her door to make sure her mom wouldn't come in all of a sudden. Then she crept back up to her window and opened it. The breezy air hit her face and the owl immediately flew into her room and perched on top of her lamp.  
  
Alisha stood there staring at the owl for a moment. It hooted and bobbed its head up and down. Something was attached to its feet and so Alisha decided to take it off.  
  
It was a note and it read, ----------  
  
Dear Miss Alisha Robertson,  
  
I am happy to inform you that you have been accepted to attend the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry as a foreign exchange student. A list of the supplies you will need is attached. Transportation will be provided; just write Hagrid a note and you should meet him somewhere on the 1st of August.  
  
If you would like assistance with obtaining your supplies or if you have any questions, please write a letter addressed to "Hagrid" and attach it to this owl.  
  
Thank you and hope to see you at school!  
  
Professor McGonagall  
  
------  
  
Alisha stared blankly at the letter for a minute. Then her mouth dropped open.  
  
"Is this some kind of joke?" she asked herself. "Hmmm...no it can't be. What kind of a loony would go through the trouble of training an owl to deliver their mail?"  
  
She looked at the second sheet of parchment that was attached. ----- 'A Beginner's Book of Spells' by Linda Gothwart  
  
'An Exchange Student's Guide to the Magical World' by Rhonda Gills  
  
'Everything You Need to Know' by Gersham Ryans ------  
  
"Um. Okay. This must be a dream. Yeah, that's right, it's all a dream Alisha and a lack of sleep. Speaking of which...I really must be getting to bed now! It's already 10:50!!!"  
  
Alisha was clearing up all her homework papers when the owl hooted. Alisha jumped at the sound because she had forgotten all about the owl.  
  
"Hmmm....so what should I say to this 'Hagrid'? I need to ask my mom for permission first." she shuddered at the thought of what her mom would say. "Errr...I better find a good excuse for going to school in Europe. Whatever, it can't be that hard. But in the meantime...I better tell Hagrid to wait for an answer."  
  
She quickly scribbled a note to the person named Hagrid, attached the note to the owl and sent it out her window.  
  
"Emmnghhh, I am sooooooooooooooo tired," she said with a yawn. "It's all a dream.....my head will be cleared in the morning," she repeated to herself, looking at the parchment that was on her desk. "All a dream. . . ."  
  
And with that thought she fell asleep.  
  
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*PLEASE REVIEW! IT MEANS A LOT TO ME!!* 


	2. An Unexpected Companion

*DISCLAIMER*: I do not own any of the original HP characters...I only own MY characters that I have made up.  
  
A/N: Keep in mind that Mary Sues were not intentional. . . Please read and then review!! I will post a reply to your review on the next chapter! :)  
  
credit goes to corinofthesoul for plot inspiration.  
  
---  
  
corinofthesoul: hehe, hey Mary thanx for the review...I guess.... ;D crazy Czechs.  
  
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::: Exchange Students :::  
  
---CHAPTER TWO---  
  
"Ja! Shin na neun eumak! Joon be hae sae yo!"  
  
It was 6:30 AM the next day and Alisha's very annoying Korean alarm clock rang. She quickly turned it off and threw it down onto the floor and went back to sleep.  
  
.....30 minutes later......  
  
Alisha yawned and then suddenly she remembered that she had thrown her alarm clock on the floor and had gone back to sleep!!! "OH MY GOSH." she cried. She jumped out of bed and looked at her clock that was on the ground.  
  
"7:00!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I ONLY HAVE 15 MINUTES TO GET READY!!!!!!!"  
  
She turned on her shower and took a rather hasty shower, threw on the first shirt her hand made contact with, put on her jeans she wore almost everyday, skipped her "make-up" (that consisted of concealer and lipgloss), and ran downstairs with her bookbag. She scarfed down her breakfast just in time to go outside and catch the bus.  
  
She huffed as she stepped onto the bus and plopped down in her usual seat in front of her friend, Mary who looked preoccupied by some thought.  
  
Alisha peered over the seat and stared at Mary for a second.  
  
*poke poke* "Mary, you alright?" she asked. Mary broke from her trance. "Oh! Hey! Ummm....yeah." she said rather awkardly. She was putting a piece of paper she was reading back into her bookbag.  
  
"What's that?" Alisha said, being the nosy person she was, pointing at the piece of paper.  
  
"Ummmm....nothing..." Mary said. Nevertheless, Alisha being a very cunning person snatched the piece of folded paper from Mary's hands.  
  
"GIVE THAT BACK!!!!!" yelled Mary. Too late. Alisha had hopped from seat to seat while reading the piece of paper. Then she stopped and froze and her eyes grew wide.  
  
Mary sighed as Alisha turned to look at her. Then she slowly said, "I...I got the same exact letter..."  
  
"WHAT?!?!? ...are you kidding? or no..?" said Mary.  
  
"Nooooo I am not joking! I got the same letter last night when I was doing my homework. An owl delivered it.."  
  
Mary looked at Alisha closely to see if she was lying.  
  
"Okay, I believe you....so what do you think of it? Do you think you will go?"  
  
"Well...school has just started a week ago so I guess it doesn't really matter if I go...I just have to tell my mom something to let her let me go. You?"  
  
"I've already asked my mom...told her it was only for honor students ha ha...she almost immediately agreed!" Mary said as the bus came to a stop at their school.  
  
"Awesome...I think I'll tell my mom the same thing then," said Alisha as the two of them got off the bus together.  
  
* * *  
  
"Guess what???" Alisha asked Mary on the phone that night.  
  
"Let me guess...you grew a goatee?" said Mary.  
  
"Nope......I CAN GOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!" Alisha said triumphantly.  
  
Mary let out a squeal on the other line.  
  
"So then, we have to send a letter to this guy named 'Hagrid', eh?" asked Mary.  
  
"I already sent mine," Alisha said smugly. "The owl that delivered my letter came back to get it."  
  
"Alright then, I'll send mine right now!" Mary said.  
  
"Sooooo....I'll see ya!" said Alisha and hung up the phone. She let out a little sigh. She was thinking "What have I gotten myself into now?? ....Oh well, it can't be THAT bad..."  
  
* * *  
  
Later on that night, Alisha could not go to sleep. She was listening to music on her computer when she heard a familiar sound at her window.  
  
Tat-tat-tat-tat-tat!  
  
Alisha jumped up and went to open the window. The same old barn owl flew straight into her room and dropped a piece of parchment on her desk. She picked it up and read it.  
  
------------  
  
'ello Alisha! This is Hagrid. I'm happy to hear that you'll be able to attend Hogwarts this year! I will arrive at your house to pick you up tomorrow night. And...don't be expectin' us to travel in the normal Muggle way...We'll also pick your friend Mary up and then we'll be off to Diagon Alley to buy all your things! Hope to see you soon.  
  
Best wishes, Hagrid  
  
------------  
  
Alisha stared at the word 'Muggle' and was very confused. "What the heck is that?" she asked herself. Then she gave a shrug and went to sleep because she was very tired.  
  
* * *  
  
The next night was very cold which was unusual for a night in July. The stars were twinkling overhead and Alisha gazed up at the moon outside of her house. She was playing with the handle of her suitcase that she filled with clothes, CDs, and DVDs.  
  
"That school better have electricity..." she thought sleepily. She had no idea what a wizard school would be like.  
  
Just then, she heard a strange noise coming from above that sounded something like an engine....  
  
She looked up and screamed at the surprising sight.  
  
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TO BE CONTINUED...  
  
*PLEASE REVIEW! IT MEANS A LOT TO ME!!!!!!!!* 


	3. Off to Hogwarts

*DISCLAIMER*: I do not own any of the original HP characters...I only own MY characters that I have made up.  
  
A/N: Please review and tell me what you think of my fic so far!! credit goes to corinofthesoul for plot inspiration.  
  
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::: Exchange Students :::  
  
---CHAPTER THREE---  
  
There was a light beaming down from the sky and it was coming closer and closer towards her and the engine sound grew louder and louder. Alisha started to scream but all the world around her seemed to be frozen by some spell. Even the leaves were not rustling and the wind stopped and there was total silence except for the long droning of an engine. Alisha shut her eyes as the object with the engine sound came just a few feet away from her.  
  
Then the sound stopped.  
  
Alisha slowly opened her eyes and gasped when she saw a very shiny motorcycle with a large giant sitting on it. There were two smaller motorcycles trailing behind it with no apparent string attached...as if they were being dragged along by some magic.  
  
" 'ello, Alisha! It's very nice to see you. I see yer frigh'ened by this 'ere motorcycle of mine...I agree, it's a beauty, ain't it?" said the giant. "Oh yeh, I almost forgot," he said chuckling to himself. "Me name's Hagrid." Hagrid held out his gigantic hand for Alisha to shake and as she did, she thought all of her bones in her hands would be crushed.  
  
"So...um...how does...how do you...?" Alisha asked tentatively pointing at the motorcycles.  
  
"Ah, well you see, Dumbledore's put a very powerful spell on these motorcyles 'ere and that's wha' makes 'em fly. Jus' hop on one of these back here and we should be off to find Mary," he said motioning to one of the two motorcycles that were behind the one he was on.  
  
Alisha slowly advanced towards the motorcycle. She chose the green one for some reason...she put her hand on the handle but then said, "Oh!! I almost forgot my suitcase! It's um...rather big so how are we going to take it? I shouldn't have packed so many things..." she muttered.  
  
"Not to worry, not to worry!!! Remember that I come from a magical world where almost anything is possible. Let's see here...," Hagrid said as he pulled out a small velvet pouch from the inside pocket of his leather coat. "Three pinches should do it," he said putting three pinches of some pink powdery stuff onto Alisha's suitcase. The suitcase immediately floated.  
  
"Oh....wow...that's so awesome," Alisha said in awe as she mounted her motorcycle. "I am SO gonna get used to this..." she thought to herself.  
  
"Alright then, are you all set?" Hagrid called back to Alisha who was putting on her helmet.  
  
"Yup!"  
  
"Off we gooooooo!!!" Hagrid yelled and Alisha felt the motorcycle being picked off its wheels and into the starlit sky.  
  
"So then, I know now how you make things fly, but how did you freeze time?" Alisha said, or rather yelled because the mixture of the roaring engines and the stinging wind was hard to start a conversation in.  
  
"A time-turner, of course! Dumbledore's own!" Hagrid boomed back.  
  
"Who's Dumbledore?"  
  
"Why, he's the grea'est wizard that's ever lived! Cheerful fellow, and very kind and considerate if yeh ask me. He's the Headmaster of Hogwarts," Hagrid answered.  
  
Alisha tried not to look down because they were very high up by now and Alisha had a mortal fear of heights which did not help at all. Soon, the two of them scudded down onto the pavement on their roaring bikes and saw a girl sitting on a curbside reading something. She heard the inevitable sound of motorcycles coming towards her and almost screamed but just stood there with her eyes wide open when she recognized Alisha.  
  
"Hey!" Alisha waved. "Mary, this is Hagrid, Hagrid this is my friend Mary."  
  
Hagrid held out his mammoth of a hand as Mary tentatively held her out and almost howled in pain as the giant shook her hand.  
  
"Umm..nice to meet you Hagrid," Mary said massaging her fingers.  
  
"I's a pleasure! Now I think we ought to be on our way to 'ogwarts then? Jus' hop on to the 'bike we have for ya beside Alisha!" he boomed.  
  
When all of them were seated on their motorcycles and were ready, Hagrid turned the time-turner that was in his hand and all three of them were in a kind of time-warp. Colors were flying past them and Mary felt her stomach churn and Alisha shut her eyes.  
  
THUD!  
  
Alisha opened her eyes to see that they were in some sort of forest and looked around. It was around noontime and the sun was shining brightly in the sky.  
  
Mary let out a gasp. They were walking toward a huge castle that was lit inside by slowly flickering candles. Alisha and Mary looked at each other in amazement but silently followed their guide to the castle, hauling their luggage with them.  
  
"Well, here we are! Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry!" Hagrid said as they entered the Great Hall. "I hope you two are hungry, because lunchtime in the Great Hall is always a feast!" he said patting his stomach.  
  
They entered into the Great Hall and was amazed yet again. Four very, very, very long tables were in the middle of the Hall and the place was buzzing with laughter, shouts, whispers, and singing. There were students everywhere sitting at the tables eating what looked like a magnificent feast as Hagrid had said. At the front part of the hall was another long table which was apparently used for the teachers. Mary and Alisha tried to absorb everything but couldn't and they almost fainted at the sight of so many people so happy in one place.  
  
When the door shut behind them, almost the whole entire Hall fell to a hush, except for a few whispers here and there.  
  
Alisha and Mary slowly followed Hagrid to the long table at the front of the hall, rolling their luggage with them. Almost every student's eyes were fixed on the two of them and tracked them even as they sat down at a table with about 6 other students at it.  
  
Mary and Alisha noticed their names were placed on this particular table with the United States flag imprinted on a sign. They observed the six other student's name tags and saw that they were all from different countries. Eloise D'Armilly and Jacques Pierre were from France, Jane Gosworth and Katrina Heathrow were from South Africa, and Soo Choi and Jing Tzao were from China.  
  
They saw an elderly man that was seated at the largest chair of the long teachers' table stand up. He hd a silver beard with half-moon glasses, and a very ancient and wise look about him. They guessed that this was Dumbledore, the headmaster.  
  
"Settle down, please, settle down," he said. The whole hall fell silent. "We have with us today six very special guests from all over the world. They are exchange students to Hogwarts and I expect all of you to show your best behavior to them. They will be staying with us for a year and I hope they enjoy the time they spend here," he added as he looked towards the Exchange Students' table and smiled warmly. "In honor of their coming, I have prepared the Sorting Hat ceremony to be held right here and right now. Please give them all a warm welcome!"  
  
There was a thunderous amount of clapping and whooping in the Great Hall. The Sorting Hat was brought out on a three-legged stool and the exchange students lined up to be sorted.  
  
"Er...I wonder what we're doing...." Mary whispered to Alisha who was equally confused.  
  
"Eloise D'Armilly," called out a female teacher who read from a piece of parchment. She motioned for Eloise to sit on the stool. Eloise shyly sat down and felt the Sorting Hat placed on her head.  
  
"RAVENCLAW!" the Sorting Hat boomed, scaring the death out of all the exchange students. There was a boom of approval from the Ravenclaw table as the Head Girl showed Eloise to their table.  
  
Mary and Alisha looked at each other nervously as the line began to become shorter.  
  
"Mary Bower," said the woman.  
  
Mary sat down and was almost on the verge of vomiting because she was so nervous. The moment the hat touched her head it cried out, "SLYTHERIN!!!" and caused her to jump. Again, there was a thunderous amount of applause from the Slytherin table and the Head Girl showed her to the table. She sat down and was greeted by high fives and she just shyly smiled and turned back to the Sorting Hat, fidgetingly waiting for Alisha's turn.  
  
"Alisha Robertson," read the woman off of her list.  
  
Alisha slowly approached the stool, and finally sat down. She felt sweat rolling down her face and was extremely embarassed. Never in her life had so many eyes been fixed on HER. She felt the tension grow in the room...she wanted the floor to swallow her up...she felt like she was going to be sick...she...  
  
"GRYFFINDOR!!" the hat said even before it touched Alisha's head. Alisha did not jump like Mary had, but rather hopped up from the stool and almost ran to the Gryffindor table with her face as red as the Gryffindor ties. There was of course the usual thunderous clapping and hollering as the table welcomed her into their house.  
  
Then, by magic, food appeared on the tables. Not just food, but magnificent, wonderful, unimaginable foods of all kinds. Soon enough, all the students were busy concentrating on their food and almost forgot the special ceremony that had happened...which relieved both Mary and Alisha, of course.  
  
Mary was eating her food when she caught Alisha's eye with the corner of hers. She got up, and went over to sit with Alisha.  
  
"Oh my gosh, this is so great isn't it??" Mary asked.  
  
"Yeah, it would be if I almost didn't pee in my pants when that hat shouted." Alisha replied.  
  
"Hmmm...there's this wonderful guy at my table and he's so gorgeous!" Mary said giggling.  
  
"See! I told you there were handsome guys in England!" Alisha said smirking.  
  
Soon the two friends began a cheery conversation of what they had gone through so far.  
  
Then, suddenly, Mary let out a scream as something slimy hit her in the head. Alisha followed suit when she noticed someone had done something horrible to her!  
  
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*PLEASE REVIEW! IT MEANS A LOT TO ME!!!!!!!!* 


	4. A Warm Welcome

*DISCLAIMER*: I do not own any of the original HP characters...I only own MY characters that I have made up!!!!  
  
A/N: Please review...it means a lot to me! Please tell me what I am doing wrong with this fic, I won't get mad at you as long as you tell me some reasons! If you leave some witty comment that ticks me off, you better watch out! Tell me what you think of it so far... :D  
  
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::: Exchange Students :::  
  
---CHAPTER FOUR---  
  
Alisha looked down at herself in disgust as purple pudding dripped slowly off of it. Mary did not stop screaming because she felt something furry go down her back. She realized it was a rat and screamed even louder and ran around the entire Great Hall trying to get it out. There were enormous amounts of laughter going on in the Hall as the students all pointed and laughed at the sight that was before them. The teachers at the front table had now gotten up and tried to restore order but failed terribly. Alisha was on the verge of tears and Mary was on the verge of fainting when they heard an ear-splitting CRACK! coming from the front of the Hall.  
  
"PLEASE, STUDENTS, SETTLE. DOWN!" thundered an angry Professor Dumbledore, with his wand in his hand. His face was red with fury and at once the students were silent. They had never seen Dumbledore so mad before and were frightened. The old Professor swished his wand towards Mary and the furry little rat was gone. He muttered, "Evanesco" and the purple pudding that was on Alisha was gone, while she had tried to get it all off with a napkin in vain. Then she broke into tears and ran outside. A furious Mary grabbed her suitcase and stamped outside following Alisha and slammed the great door shut behind her. There was silence and a moment of tension as the students were all very startled.  
  
"Head Boys and Head Girls, please lead your houses to the Common Rooms," Dumbledore said with authority. "NOW." he added when he saw that a few students were hesitant. Once again, the rustle and bustle of students getting up from their seats and whispering begain again, and Dumbledore met with Hagrid in a corner and were talking in low voices. Hagrid gave a nod and went outside to find Mary and Alisha.  
  
"Never...in my LIFE...," Mary trembled with fury. "What HORRIBLE person could've DONE this to us?" Alisha said sobbing. "That was even more embarassing than the talking hat!" she continued, "Oh! I never thought I would say that sentence ever in my life...a TALKING HAT!!! What have we gotten ourselves into?" she continued, shivering with humiliation. Mary handed her a tissue. "I don't know who did it...but we're going to find out and that person is going to PAY," Mary said threateningly. They heard the door to the Great Hall open and the familiar giant approached.  
  
"Ladies, I'm so terribly sorry for tha' scene back in the Grea' Hall. Don't worry, we'll get things straigh'ened out and punish whoe'er it was tha' did that ter you two. Actually, Dumbledore is on the case right now tryin ter figure out who it was. Good ol' Dumbledore, nothin slips past him and he'll sort this ou' in no time! Meanwhile, he's given me orders to take you two on a special trip ter Diagon Alley. Yer gonna like it there! C'mon, we'll have to travel by the time-turner." And without warning, Hagrid turned the gadget twice in his hand and the same strang time-warped feeling passed through Mary and Alisha. Finally, they came to a stop and found themselves in a crowded Alley, full of merry people and laughing and music.  
  
They looked around and saw some amazing things they would never forget.  
  
"Weasley Wizard Wheezes...?" Mary asked questioningly at Hagrid.  
  
"OH! Tha's one of the finest stores in Diagon Alley! Recen'ly opened, ya know. Owned by the most famous twin brothers Hogwarts has ever seen! Brothers of Ron Weasley...he's in 6th year in your house, Alisha. Yup, those are an amazing pair those two...always coming up with funny ideas and clever tricks..."  
  
The three of them walked into a shop called The Cage and found themselves in the midst of dozens and dozens of animals. Cats, owls, rats (Mary shivered), spiders, kneazles, lizards, and even some crups.  
  
"Awww, look, Mary, it's so CUTE!" Alisha said petting a gray and white tabby with pink ears. Mary didn't have the same love for cats as Alisha did and nonchalantly petted a black cat with green eyes, when it started to lick her fingers, making it tickle. Mary giggled and picked up the cat and fell in love with it. "Oh, she's perfect! May I get him, Hagrid?" she asked.  
  
"Why sure, Mary! Your pick...although I wouldn't mind having a couple o' these lizards here...." he said wandering off towards the lizards section.  
  
"And I think I'll keep this little guy," Alisha said, holding the gray tabby in her arms. There was something about the two cats that was different than the cats they had in America, but they thought little of it.  
  
"A'right then, off we go!" said Hagrid as Alisha and Mary stepped out of the shop with their newly-bought pets.  
  
"Well, now that's an interesting pick you two have made!" Hagrid said smiling at the two happy girls.  
  
"Why do you say that, Hagrid? They're just cute little ordinary cats...they're nice and cuddly and soooo cute!" Alisha said scratching her cat behind the ears.  
  
At this Hagrid gave a chuckle which startled the two girls. "They are not cats," he said decisively, "they are trinkers!"  
  
"Uh....trinkers?" Mary said.  
  
"Yeh! trinkers! The most cleverest and sharpest felines out there in the wizarding world! They only grow to be about a kitten's size, but they do come in handy!"  
  
"And why is that?" Alisha said even more confused than before.  
  
"They can sense danger." Hagrid said.  
  
"WHAT?!?!?!??!?!?!" the two girls said in unison.  
  
"Yup. Any time they sense danger, their trinks go off. They're like little tiny bells attached to their ears that ring whenever danger is near or in the future. And what's more, they can ward off certain evil spirits of the dark wizarding world......but we shan' talk abou' tha' here...not with so many people around...." he said in a low voice looking around cautiously. "It hasn't been the greatest time for Hogwarts these days....or the luckiest either."  
  
The two girls looked at their "trinkers" in amazement and then at Hagrid and said nothing until they got to the next shop. This time it was a robe shope fille with all kinds of wonderful looking robes. They bought 6 robes each and were happy again when they left that shop. Next, they went to Flourish and Blotts to pick up their pre-ordered textbooks they would need for school. Finally, when all their arms were full of items and bags they set off to Hogwarts again.  
  
~*~  
  
"Well, here we are again!" Hagrid said as they arrived at the door of the Great Hall. Everyone should be in their Common Rooms getting ready to sleep. The Head Girl of your house should give you your new clothes and show you your beds." he said as he led them up the enormous and grand staircase of Hogwarts.  
  
"Alright then, good night! This would be the Gryffindor common room....for you, Alisha." Hagrid said in front of a portrait of a fat lady in pink. "Oh! and I almost forgot, the password is 'grondrupple'." As he said this word, the portrait swung open revealing a staircase that most likely led into the Common Room. "Mary, I'll show you to your Slytherin Common Room. I'm only sorry that you two didn't get into the same house!  
  
Alisha sighed as she bid Hagrid and Mary good night and climbed up the steps into her new home taking her suitcase and shopping bags with her. Her gray tabby was following behind her curiously.  
  
The Common Room was definitely not what she had expected. It was late at night and the she expected everyone to be in bed, but apparently it was not so. The whole common room seemed to be up and awake, enjoying a sort of party with talking and laughter everywhere. She scanned the cozy room and only saw people around her age awake. When she shut the door behind her, almost the whole room fell silent and all eyes were on the her. She dropped her suitcase and bags beside her and stood there.  
  
Alisha forced a smile on her face but soon her face became red when she remembered what had happened to her that morning. Her trinker seemed to be aware of the tension because soon enough, the trinks started ringing in a quiet tone. Alisha picked her up and petted her, trying to calm her down. "I think I'll call you Trinkerbell..." Alisha whispered to her trinker. When the cat heard this, she let her trinks ring louder in a more cheerful tone. "Wow, you do that when you're happy too? You're amazing..."  
  
"Hi! You must be Alisha," said a girl now standing in front of Alisha. "I'm Penelope Rombrick, the Gryffindor Head Girl," Penelope said holding out her hand. "I'll show you your bed an then we can ALL GO TO SLEEP..." she said eyeing the rest of the crowd. "All right people, part time's over!" she said with authority, clapping her hands. "Don't worry, we only do this sometimes," she added in a low voice to Alisha. Alisha smiled and said "Suuure..."  
  
She was about to pick her belongings up and follow Penelope when somebody from the crowd came to her. "Hey, I'm Hermione Granger," said a girl with brown, bushy curly hair with a warm smile. "I was Prefect last year....anyway that doesn't matter.... I'm really truly sorry about what happened this morning. Draco has always been like that...giving new students a special, uh, 'treat' as a welcoming present..."  
  
'Malfoy, Malfoy, Malfoy,' thought Alisha. 'So that must be the boy who put those dirty tricks on me and Mary! I'll get him back...'  
  
"No, he's actually ill in the head you see," said a red-headed boy. "I'm Ron Weasley, it's nice to meet you." he said holding out his hand.  
  
"Ron...Weasley? Do you happen to be related to the owner of--"  
  
"Weasley's Wizard Wheezes? Yeh...it's sad, but it's true. My brothers are known for their witty pranks so they started their own business last year."  
  
"Yeah, and don't think YOU don't participate in any of those 'witty pranks', Ron!" said Hermione reproachfully.  
  
"Well at least I'm courageous enough to bend a few rules, Miss Perfect Granger!" he retorted.  
  
"Courageous enough to bend a few rules?! Why, Ron, you don't ever do your homework so I wouldn't be so proud of that!" she said again.  
  
"BREAK IT YOU TWO!" said a tall, dark haired boy. "Sorry about that, they always do that....oh, my name is Harry Potter. Here, let me carry your books for you," he said quickly, taking up Alisha's stuff for her.  
  
"Oh, um...thanks...Harry, is it?"  
  
"Yeh, Harry...," he said unsurely. He was so used to people knowing his 'famous name' that it was awkward reminding someone of his name. Somehow it made him feel good inside that finally a person could have a conversation without peering curiously at his infamous scar or gasping at his name.  
  
"So where are you from again?" he said, walking up the steps with Alisha.  
  
"I'm from America...and this is the last place I would ever expect to be!" she said in a tired tone. She was surprised at how much she had done. Just last week she was in her room, stressing out over her homework and here she was at a magical school in almost a whole other world...  
  
"I hope you like it here then, it's a great place really, except it's been through some hard times lately. But you'll like it, don't worry. Good night." he said closing the door.  
  
"Good night..." Alisha said almost immediately plopping down on her bed with her trinker following suit.  
  
~*~  
  
Mary and Hagrid walked through the dark corridors turning so many turns that Mary gave up on keeping count of them. She was also having a very hard time dragging her heavy suitcase up the steps. Hagrid did not notice this because of his unusual drowsiness.  
  
"Here love, let me help you with that," said a voice. Mary turned around and screamed dropping her suitcase.  
  
"It's...Hagrid, it's...a ghost.......!!!!!!!" Mary said terrified.  
  
"Of course it's a ghost! That's the Bloody Baron, Slytherin's house ghost. He's actually quite friendly to his own house-mates. Mary stared blankly as the Bloody Baron picked up her things and floated down the corridors following the two.  
  
"Of course it's a ghost...right...I forgot we were in a magical world now..." Mary said to herself.  
  
Finally they arrived at the Slytherin Common Room where she underwent almost the same thing as Alisha had. There was a party going on and no one noticed her as she came in which was a relief. She slowly crept towards the stairs when she was stopped by a blonde boy which happened to be the same boy she thought was "gorgeous" that very morning.  
  
"Why, if it isn't rat-pack from this morning!" the boy jeered at her. Mary's face turned red. "That was a great scene you put on it was. Got me rolling alright!" he said with a laugh.  
  
"Break it, Malfoy," said a girl coldly. "Hey, sorry about him, he's a super idiotic git...my name is Swann Silvers and I'm the Head Girl. I'll show you to your bed--"  
  
"Not so quickly, Swann! Why, we have to go through the traditional welcoming ceremony!" he said with an evil smirk.  
  
Swann stepped up to Malfoy, towering over him. "No, Malfoy. Not again. You'll get the entire Slytherin House in trouble if you conjure up another dirty trick like what you did this morning!" she muttered to him menacingly.  
  
"So YOU'RE the one who put the pudding on Alisha and that rat down my back!" Mary said disgustedly. "You're a horrible person, I hope you know that."  
  
"And YOU'RE nothing but a filthy Mudblood." Draco said half-shouted.  
  
The whole room fell silent. Mary's black trinker's bells were ringing threateningly by her feet.  
  
"That's right. A filthy MUD. BLOOD. Not in 17 years has Slytherin House have a MUDBLOOD enter into its Common Room!" he raged, his face turning red.  
  
Mary was very confused. "What the heck's a Mudblood?" she asked. "Gosh, I may vomit thinking that THAT idiot could've been 'gorgeous'...." she thought to herself.  
  
"Nevermind that, Mary, I'll show you your bed," Swann said, almost having to pull her up the stairs. Mary kept a glare on Draco until she finally passed into the girls' Dormitory.  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *  
  
REVIEW PLEASE!!!!!!! 


	5. Snogging in the Broom Closets

*DISCLAIMER*: I do not own any of the original HP characters...I only own MY characters that I have made up!!!!  
  
A/N: Read this whole chapter for pivotal information please!  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
::: Exchange Students :::  
  
---CHAPTER FIVE---  
  
The next day Alisha woke up refreshed. She was so tired the night before that she had fallen asleep without getting any of her things out of her suitcase. Trinkerbell was gazing out of the window.  
  
"Breakfast is ready, Alisha!" called Penelope. "Come down and eat with us!"  
  
"Alright, I'll be down there in a minute," called Alisha. She quickly got dressed in her new school outfit which she liked very much, called Trinkerbell to her and quickly went down to the Great Hall. She was glad she had made friends on her first day which seemed so unlikely the day before.  
  
She hurried down the stairs and into the Great Hall which was already filled with students enjoying the morning together. She was glad when the whole room didn't fall silent when she entered and scanned the crowd to find her friend Mary, whom she eagerly wished to see. Then she spotted Mary at a table....sitting alone? No, it can't be! Alisha said. But it was true. Mary was sitting alone at a table, not touching her food looking very down. Alisha at once felt her heart sink and rushed over to her.  
  
"Mary, what's wrong!" she cried, putting her arm around her friend.  
  
"Besides being humiliated again by the entire Slytherin House? Oh, nothing much," she said poking at her scrambled eggs. "I HATE this place, Alisha, and I want to go home," she said her eyes getting teary.  
  
"No, we're not going home. Come on, you can sit with me, I've met so many wonderful people in Gryffindor."  
  
"Lucky you." Mary said.  
  
"Oh Mary, come ON, it's not the end of the world!" she said finally pulling Mary out of her seat. The two friends walked over to the Gryffindor tables.  
  
"So, I met this wonderful guy named Harry Parter or something like that and he is GORGEOUS!" Alisha said giggling.  
  
"Oh." Mary said. "Just make sure he's not some sinister guy seeking to rip your guts open. Because that's what happened to me when I thought someone was gorgeous."  
  
"That guy in Slytherin? The one you said was gorgeous??"  
  
"Yes...he called me some word I didn't know. But it must've been a pretty dirty word because the whole room fell silent. and what's MORE, he's the same guy who pulled those tricks on us yesterday."  
  
"Malfoy!" Alisha gasped. "But...he's...he LOOKED nice!" she said in confusion. "Wow, what a waste of hottness," she said tutting.  
  
Mary smiled and then burst out laughing. Soon they were chatting animatedly about OTHER guys including Alisha's newfound "Harry".  
  
"Hey, girls!" said Ron sitting down with Harry.  
  
"Hey guys! Meet my friend, Mary. She's from America too. Mary, this is Ron and...*Harry*..." she said trying not to smile. Mary gave her a nudge with her elbow. Ron picked up this signal and grinned at Harry who turned a violent pink. Alisha coughed, "And...this...is Hermione. Hermione?"  
  
"Oh! Hey Mary! Sorry, I'm trying to...finish...this...paper...I'm...writing...for...McGonagall...," Hermione said, writing on her parchment with the sound of her quill scratching as she spoke.  
  
"Aha..." said Mary.  
  
"Don't mind 'Mione, she always has to be just perfect." Ron said teasingly.  
  
Mary laughed, "Oh, kind of like Alisha, right? Looks like you've found yourself a match, Alisha!...um...Alisha?"  
  
Alisha was concentrating on Draco who was seated at the Slytherin table.  
  
"Oh, do you like Draco the Git too?" said Ron jokingly.  
  
"No...it's just that it was so cruel what he did to us yesterday."  
  
"Don't worry, I've heard Dumbledore's sent his father a lengthy note about it," said Harry.  
  
"But I wonder WHY he did it....people just don't do things like that out of the blue you know?" said Mary.  
  
"Malfoy does." said Hermione, rolling up her parchment. She got up from her seat and the four friends did so too.  
  
~*~  
  
Alisha looked at her schedule. Today was a Friday which meant Double Potions, Transfiguration, Care of Magical Creatures, and History. She looked at the subjects and smiled. "This is gonna be a good year," she thought to herself, walking down the corridors trying to find her way. She was looking at the location of Potions when she bumped into someone which caused all her books to fly into all directions.  
  
"Oh, sorry!" she said, picking up her books.  
  
"That's okay," said a familiar voice that bent down beside her picking up her books with her.  
  
They both looked up at the same time.  
  
"Oh it's you Alisha!" Harry said laughing. "So sorry, I was doing some, er..."last minute" corrections on my paper."  
  
Alisha laughed, "Could you help me find Potions?"  
  
"Oh yeah, that's where I'm going, just follow me. Here, I'll carry your books for you." he said.  
  
"Oh all right," Alisha blushed, Trinkerbell tagging along behind the two.  
  
"Today is Double Potions which means we have class with the Slytherins." Harry said in a not-so-enthusiastic voice. "But you can see Mary and that's about the only good thing about this class. Trust me. You'll hate it..." he said opening the dungeon doors for Alisha.  
  
Alisha shivered because this room was cooler than the rest of the castle and was also dimly lit by a few flickering candles here and there.  
  
She spotted Mary sitting in a corner and took her books from Harry, thanking him quietly and rushed over to Mary who gave her a smirk.  
  
"Ooh-la-la, I see someone is having a good time so far," Mary said.  
  
"Hehe, shutup."  
  
"So have you named your cat yet?" Mary asked.  
  
"Yup. Trinkerbell."  
  
"Aww that's so cute! I named mine Belldandy." Mary said placing her trinker on the table and playing with her.  
  
Potions passed by slowly, with Snape's monotonous voice ringing out throughout the whole classroom. By the end of class he had taken 60 points from Gryffindor and 10 from Slytherin. The students were more than glad when they were dismissed from class.  
  
The rest of the day flowed by slowly and Alisha soon discoverred to her delight that Harry was in all of her classes and Hermione and Ron were almost in all of her classes. Mary was only in two of her classes - Potions and Care of Magical Creatures.  
  
After lunch, Alisha was walking with Mary while carrying Trinkerbell in her arms when Harry stopped her in the corridor outside the Gryffindor Common Room.  
  
"Soooo, um...tomorrow is Saturday...." he said.  
  
"...annnd...?" Alisha said not helping but to smile.  
  
"And we're going to Hogsmeade and I was wondering if you would like to come with me, Ron and Hermione. Oh, and Mary is more than welcome to come."  
  
"That would be great!!" Alisha said.  
  
"Okay then let's meet in the Three Broomsticks at noon?"  
  
"At noon it is," Alisha said watching Harry go into the Common Room.  
  
She felt a few nudges and then realized that Hermione and Mary were right next to her.  
  
"Wow, before you know it, you two will have snogging sessions in the broom closests!" Hermione said grinning.  
  
"Snogging...sessions?" Mary asked.  
  
"Snogging means kissing in English," Hermione explained. "And the broom closets are the most convenient for snogging!"  
  
Alisha blushed and quickly went into the Common Room with Mary and Hermione following her.  
  
The three of them saw the couches beside the fireplace empty and decided to sit there. Trinkerbell and Belldandy were playing with their newly bought balls of yarn in front of the fire.  
  
"You know, Alisha, Harry is quite popular." said Hermione.  
  
"Really?"  
  
"Well...actually he's more famous than popular. ... He's known for surviving numerous attacks from ....You-Know-Who."  
  
"You-Know-Who?" said Mary.  
  
"I don't want to say his name...but I'll write it..." Hermione said and handed Mary a piece of parchment.  
  
"Lord...Voldemort?" Mary asked.  
  
"SHHHH!! NOT SO LOUD!!!!!!!!!!" Hermione said. "He's the darkest wizard in the magical world...he seeks to murder people and flees from death. Harry is known for surviving numerous attacks by You-Know-Who, including one from when he was a baby which is why he's so famous, and one from just last year when something very strange happened..." Hermione's face turned dark. "But...I really don't want to talk about it. It's not a subject we talk about much...you see, Harry lost his Godfather last year...his only live relative he knows of. His parents died trying to protect him from You-Know- Who..I feel so bad for him."  
  
"That's horrible!" Mary and Alisha said.  
  
"Yeah....the only person he really looks up to now is Dumbledore...the only wizard You-Know-Who ever feared."  
  
Mary and Alisha remained silent, soaking all of this in.  
  
"But anyway, like I said, it's not a subject we talk about much anymore. Let's get back to the subject...So, Mary, do YOU have you eye on anyone in particular?" asked Hermione smirking at Mary.  
  
"Well....not...really..." Mary said uncomfortably.  
  
"Oh come ON Mary!! Tell us pleeeeeeaaase!"  
  
"No one....."  
  
"Liar!"  
  
"Seriously."  
  
"Mary, your eyes are twitching. you're lying when your eyes twitch." said Alisha.  
  
"Tell us, we won't laugh!"  
  
"Okay FINE." said Mary. "I like........Draco Malfoy." she said quietly.  
  
* * * * * * *  
  
An interesting twist to the plot! YAY!!!! We love twists to plots, don't we?  
  
REVIEW!!!! 


	6. Surprise Surprise!

*DISCLAIMER*: I do not own any of the original HP characters...I only own MY characters that I have made up!!!!  
  
A/N: Read this whole chapter for pivotal information please!  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
::: Exchange Students :::  
  
---CHAPTER SIX---  
  
Alisha and Hermione could not help but to keep their mouths hanging a bit open. Mary seemed very uncomfortable now and she took a sudden interest in her shoes, trying not to look up. Tension filled the whole room. Although Mary was very embarassed about this, she was relieved when the two girls did not laugh at her. However, this silence seemed even worse than embarassment, so she decided to change the subject.  
  
"Belldandy is a cute one, isn't she?" she said nervously, concentrating on Belldandy who was now getting into a playful tug of war with Trinkerbell.  
  
Silence.  
  
"I can't believe it, Mary, I just CAN'T," stammered Hermione. Mary turned pink again. "Draco Malfoy....is the biggest prat ever to walk into Hogwarts! I thought you knew better than that....Please tell me this is a joke!" she continued with a little laugh. When Mary didn't say anything the tension grew worse. Alisha gave Hermione a warning look.  
  
"Well, I'll see you two girls tomorrow morning...I gotta go get my stuff ready for Hogsmeade and then I have to study a bit. Good night," Hermione said getting up with Crookshanks following her up the stairs to the girls' dormitory.  
  
"I knew I shouldn't have told you," Mary said right after Hermione was out of view.  
  
"Mary, it's okay that you like him...I guess...maybe he's different once you get to know him?" Alisha said.  
  
"Yeah whatever. I bet you think I'm the most idiotic person on the planet now."  
  
"No I don't!!!!! I thought he was kind of cute too."  
  
"Really?"  
  
"Yeah," Alisha said laughing, "but I still think it's a waste of hottness."  
  
"Haha you're hopeless," Mary said brightening up a bit. "Sooo I guess I'll see you tomorrow morning?"  
  
"Yeah meet me in the Great Hall during breakfast."  
  
"Okie dokie," said Mary getting up and calling Belldandy to her.  
  
Mary closed the portrait of the Fat Lady behind her as she stepped out into the dark corridor. There was an ominous air about the castle this particular night, and a shiver went down her back. If Belldandy hadn't been there with her, she would probably be too frightened to take another step. As she made her way through all the twists and turns and staircases of the castle, thoughts rushed into her head. She couldn't believe she had told her deepest, darkest secret to her friends. She didn't believe that Alisha was okay with her liking Draco also. She knew Alisha was lying just to make her feel better. It actually made her feel worse. Especially because of what Hermione had said..."I thought you were better than that," Mary heard Hermione say in her mind as she replayed the scene. Mary just sighed and turned the next corner.  
  
BAM! she ran into something.  
  
And as if fate would have had it, the something she ran into was Draco Malfoy.  
  
"Watch where you're going, Mudblood! I see you've been having some late- night girly talks with your friends...typical Mudblood stuff, I guess," he jeered at her. She felt her cheeks go red and was glad it was dark in the hallway.  
  
"I'm really sorry Draco," she said quietly and tried to rush by him but she felt his hand grab hers. Draco pulled her up to his face until she could feel his hot breath on her face. Mary felt her heart beat quicken until it was about to explode right out of her chest. Her hands went cold and she felt dizzy. The two of them remained there for what seemed like an eternity. Draco's ice cold eyes seemed to pierce right through Mary's, examining everything she did. Mary felt her knees weaken below her as she stood as silent and still like a stone statue. Finally, Draco spat to her face, "You better be sorry....and it's MALFOY to YOU." He pushed Mary out of the way and left her shocked. She felt tears coming to her eyes and ran the rest of the way to her dormitory.  
  
How could she have been so dumb? she thought to herself in her bed. Of course Draco wasn't some romantic guy hiding under a sinister costume. But Mary had thought otherwise. She always believed that there was a good side to everyone, a side that needed love and friendship. Surely Draco had a good side! she thought. After all, there were so many things going on behind those eyes...yet they were as cold as ice. And as she thought these things, her stubborn heart still had that same soft spot for Draco Malfoy and she fell asleep on her bed without taking one look at the others in the dormitory.  
  
~*~  
  
PLEASE REVIEW! IT MEANS A LOT TO ME! 


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